


and when we're good and close (I think I'll steal your time)

by orphan_account



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-29
Updated: 2014-09-29
Packaged: 2018-02-19 07:26:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2379857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things are more than worth fighting for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and when we're good and close (I think I'll steal your time)

It's an errant ray of sunlight, sneaking in through the carefully lowered blinds of the bedroom window, that pulls him from the grasp of his current, rather colourful dream and in turn chases the remaining images from his sleep-addled mind.

What the weather broadcast has claimed to be the final throes of a dying summer, continues to gift them with bright, warm mornings that mercilessly slide into unbearably hot afternoons later on.

He yawns and opens his eyes to check the clock on his nightstand when he notices that no, he is not, in fact, at home. This isn't his bedroom, he doesn't have to worry about getting up too early for once, and, most importantly, he isn't occupying this bed by himself.

Benni smiles at the pleasant feeling of peaceful happiness that spreads from his chest into the rest of his body.

 

Since the Bundesliga season started, the days on which Benni gets to wake up to the relaxed form of his sleeping boyfriend sprawled on his bed next to him have become rarer and rarer with each passing week. Chances to actually sleep in together have been few and far between, leading him to hoard memories of such precious occasions to pick back up and admire later, as one would with a collection of valuable jewelry.

During the stressful hours of training and the frustration that has mostly been marking the beginning of this season, they stick out like shining beacons that have so far managed to carry him through all those days were the responsibility of his captaincy and the pressure of his own expectations – he's a  _Weltmeister_ now, goddammit – weighed heavily on his shoulders. If it was bad for him, it was worse for Mats, the newly appointed captain who, thus far, hasn't been able to participate in a single game this season, (including the internationals, which had been exceedingly irritating for both of them as Benni rather fancied sharing the pitch with Mats) due to his unfortunate injury. A Situation he can truly emphasize with, as he, too, has had to watch his fair share of games from the bench. The warring hope and despair, and above all the reigning sense of powerlessness – he's had to deal with them before and of course he's assured that Mats can handle them well enough. Regardless of that, sometimes...sometimes he just worries and wishes he could be here with him more often.

They're back to normal now, he has to remind himself on an almost daily basis. This is the everyday life, the standard that's been dictating the course of their relationship for years. The World Cup is over and yes, they won, but everything else has returned to the status quo, as far as their jobs are concerned. He and Mats are back to being parts of different clubs, rivals even, with different coaches, varying schedules and their own share of demands they're both just stubborn and ambitious enough to try and meet.

And yet, they've somehow been able to make it work. Against all odds, Benni and Mats have been going steady since 2009, have been tried and tested repeatedly over the years and prevailed every single time. Benni's pretty convinced that, since they made it this long already, there's more than a slight chance of everything working out in their favour eventually. Whenever he mentions that particular theory, Mats gives him the smile that's reserved for every private little joke between them, still, deep down Benni _knows_ with every fiber of his being that his boyfriend shares his unshakeable confidence. 

There's plenty determination to go around, at this point luck is all they need on their side, and even without it, this relationship has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. Neither of them is even remotely willing to give it up.

Mornings like this remind him of all the good things he has, how hard he fought for them and how really and truly worth they made it in the end.

 

Pulling the blanket tighter around himself, Benni stretches and closes his eyes again, wishing he could manage to fall back asleep, however there is no exhaustion left in him, he can feel the thrum of a new day residing deep in his bones. For a while he contemplates getting up to make breakfast or brunch or _something_ – he still has no idea what time exactly it is – though when his eyes fall on Mats, every thought of productivity is erased within seconds.

Sleeping Mats is his favourite thing to look at; currently he's lying on the side facing Benni, blanket pushed down towards his abdomen. Not that Mats is ever bad to look at (his boyfriend is so fucking attractive, it's overwhelming sometimes, the simple fact that he's Benni's alone, that Benni is allowed to even call Mats _his_ in the first place), in this state it is just easiest to catalogue his features; he's unshaven and his lips are curved into a soft, content smile, causing a fierce hope in Benni that whatever Mats is dreaming of is related to him in some way.

When he's asleep, all of Mats' angles soften out, down to the valleys of his defined abs, his entire body recovering from whatever the past day threw at him. In his sleep, the seemingly effortless calmness Mats usually emits becomes absolute, his breathing deep and even.

Benni can always tell if Mats is well rested because he spends so much time observing him with his form gone all lose and slack, he's nearly as naturally acquainted with his boyfriend's body as he is with his own. Mats told him once that he sleeps better with Benni there, his presence helping him to let go of whatever occupies his mind and fall into an unconscious state. It might or might not be among the memories Benni holds dearest to his heart.

 

Though the air in the room is relatively cool – Mats makes a habit of sleeping with the window cracked open – he's wrapped tightly enough into the soft cotton sheets for it not to matter. After the first few nights they'd spent at each other's places, Benni had found out the horrible truth about Mats' persistent blanket-hogging tendencies and since then, both of them had their own blanket. This was especially frustrating during the colder months, Mats was a real human furnace compared to Benni, who took every opportunity that presented itself so he could stay near Mats and steal his freezing hands under Mats' comfy hoodies.

Suddenly aware of having moved closer without actually intending to, he finds himself reaching out to the mop of dark brown hair on Mats' head. In the dim light it looks almost black, standing in strong contrast to his skin. Damn, he's so glad that Mats decided to let it grow back, he's always been more attached to the wavy mess than he cares to admit, partly for the sentimental value. Mats had longer hair when they first met, silky and stubborn and perfect, so completely and unapologetically himself, Benni had basically fallen in love at first sight. He suppresses the urge to simply burrow his hands into the brown curls so as not to disturb Mats' slumber, instead he settles for combing a few untamed strands behind his ears.

His eyes have gotten used to the dimness, otherwise he probably wouldn't have noticed Mats blinking up at him lazily, with all the grace of the recently awoken.

“Are you watching me sleep?,” he mumbles, voice devoid of inflections that could help Benni figure out whether Mats really minds this particular oddity of his. Benni shrugs, then looks at him enquiringly. “'s creepy,” Mats answers his unspoken question, but then a grin spreads over his face and when it reaches his eyes, Benni can tell that Mats must've known about this for a while. “You don't seem very fazed at all,” Benni states, as he gives in to his earlier urges and begins to stroke Mats' hair.

A second later, Mats has rolled over onto his back and pulled Benni flush on top of him, holding onto him tightly, face buried in Benni's neck. “I'm not. You aren't very subtle, y'know?,” he chuckles warmly, hands wandering over Benni's back, tracing his spine, until they settled on his hips. Mats smells like home and sleep and there's also the lingering scent of his new shower gel – they'd shared a shower before they'd gone to bed. Benni hums happily at the memory, a pleasant heat rising under his skin.

Sex with Mats has lost none of its appeal or intensity over the years; compared to their awkward first time where they (more or less) fumbled and stumbled their way towards a mutual orgasm, eyes bright and cheeks flushed feverishly, neither of them having collected even remotely enough experience due to a risk concerning certain activities that came with their job, they have gotten so much better at fucking each other stupid. Shaking fingers cautiously exploring each other's bodies, always, always mindful and almost endearingly insecure, had turned into subtle teasing, attentive learning of their preferences and a shared knowledge of how to recognize and satisfy each other's sparking itches and burning needs.

 

Though when they finally kiss, there is no real intent behind it.

It's not the morning breath that's holding them back from letting the tender touch of their lips develop into something more, if you only get the chance to wake up together as rarely as they do, you learn to make do. Neither is it a lack of time or supplies – they're both rather considerate concerning the latter. Really, the answer is quite simple: nothing makes Mats happier than cuddling with Benni first thing in the morning and Benni knows it, is 100% supportive. Not that it has always been like this, Benni's earlier relationships mostly had a different focus. However, Mats taught him the error of his ways and Benni definitely hasn't looked back since.

This is easy, warm and affectionate; he feels _safe_ when Mats holds him like this, the skin contact is familiar and right and he can't help but hold onto his boyfriend tighter in return (sometimes it's not only about being gentle and careful but about being real).

This is easy and comfortable and so, so satisfying, Benni just -

“I love you,” he mumbles between kisses he meticulously scatters on Mats' neck. Mats looks up and steadily holds Benni's gaze. There's a swirl of emotions Benni can identify in his earnest brown eyes (and it constantly amazes him how well they've learned to read each other over the years). Flickers of surprise and contentment and a tiny speck of mirth that is _so_ very much Mats Julian Hummels, it makes Benni smile ridiculously hard – but mostly his expression conveys a sort of bone-deep fondness that, even though he did figure it out eventually, still took him far too long to name the first time he saw it.

“I love you, too,” Mats whispers his answer directly into Benni's ear, and they don't avoid the phrase or anything, yet somehow it never stops feeling special. Both of them are firm believers in the art of talking about their emotions, both of them are articulate (maybe Mats a little more so than Benni, there's absolutely no shame in admitting that his boyfriend is Germany's most eloquent football player) they have found so many different ways to say it, so many different means to show it, and still; there are no other words that fill him with quite as much joy as these do.

He won a world cup, for fuck's sake, he was up there, he held that trophy, he bathed in the glory only bestowed onto those who truly are number one, on top of the world. The taste of victory is sweet and he probably won't forget it any time soon. What made that night even more memorable though, is the fact that he got to share it with Mats, share it with the person he is sure he wants to share everything with. From the delirious euphoria of triumph down to the corrosive anguish that is defeat, they stood together through it all and will continue to do so. Maybe he is a horrible romantic when it comes to these matters, but Mats is aware and he doesn't mind it, so as far as Benni is concerned, there's no reason to change.

His train of thought, despite having pretty much arrived at a fixed destination, is rudely interrupted by his boyfriend, who musters him with a mix of curiousity and amusement. “You do realize that it is way too early in the morning for you to be entertaining any complex hypotheses regarding the wonders of human existence, right?,” Mats chuckles and rubs their noses together. Benni just pokes his tongue out at him in return. “Ha ha, incredibly hilarious. What time is it, anyway?” As usual, Benni's sarcasm earns him a fond eye-roll. A few seconds pass, while Mats grabs his phone from the night stand and fails a few times to unlock the screen until at last he proclaims: “Exactly twenty-five minutes to twelve,” he shoves Benni off to the side and makes a show of stretching his arms and yawning. “We better get up and have breakfast, I wouldn't want for your dieting-plan to get all messed up because of me.”

Before he can so far as move a leg off the bed, Benni firmly pulls him back down. “You, my dear Mr Hummels, aren't going anywhere right now, as long as I get a say in it,” his grip is nowhere near unbreakable, but Mats apparently isn't all too intent on leaving the bed anyway. Playing up an exasperated sigh, he surrenders himself to his fate; his obviously feigned annoyance at being manhandled only managing to make Benni smirk. “Smugness is a fantastic look on you. Always has been,” it comes out sounding way more affectionate than teasing, so Mats is likely being completely genuine. Oh god, he's so ridiculously smitten with this guy.

“Just shut up and let me steal a little more of your time,” Benni says, and when he finally kisses Mats again, there is nothing tame or innocent about it.

 

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from Say Anything's song So Good  
>  shoutout to corts


End file.
